Black Sea Fleet’s flagship missile-carrying cruiser Moskva

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Russian and Chinese vessels, involved in the Maritime Cooperation 2015 drills in the Mediterranean Sea, have jointly freed a vessel seized by simulated pirates, the executive head of the maneuvers from the Russian side, Rear Admiral Viktor Kochemazov, said Wednesday.

"On May 20, the joint task force of the Russian and Chinese navies practiced actions to defend the shipping and fishing areas as part of the continuing active phase of the Russian-Chinese naval exercise Maritime Cooperation 2015 in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea," Kochemazov told journalists.

He said Russian and Chinese sailors also practiced inspection, detention and escort of a suspicious vessel and rendering assistance to a vessel in distress.

The Maritime Cooperation 2015 drills’ active phase takes place in the Mediterranean Sea on May 17-21.

The joint Russian-Chinese task force comprises the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship missile-carrying cruiser The Moskva, patrol ship The Ladny and two amphibious assault ships The Aleksandr Otrakovsky and The Alexander Shabalin, the MB-31 salvage tug, missile-carrying hovercraft The Samum, as well as China’s frigates The Linyi and The Weifang, and the Weishanhu support ship.

Earlier it was reported that patrol ship The Pytlivy set out from the federal Russian city of Sevastopol to replace The Ladny.